Happy to see a suburban school win U-16 title: Kashyap

Former Mohun Bagan coach Santosh Kashyap, who also holds a UEFA Pro Licence, is glad that the quality of football is improving at the grassroots level.

Santosh Kashyap

Talking about how the standard of the sport has improved across the city, Kashyap who was the chief guest for MSSA U-16 Div I final said: “The quality of football played by both teams was much better compared to previous years. There was an excellent display of sportsmanship. I am happy to see new teams play the final. This shows that the standard of football is improving in other schools in the city.”

St Lawrence coach Lachman Bisht

Kashyap credited his former Mahindra United teammate Lachman Singh Bisht for popularising the sport in the Kandivli school. “I am very happy that a team from the suburbs has won the Division I title. The credit should go to my Mahindra United colleague Lachman (Singh Bisht) who coached the kids. Even my son Sameer (who is currently a part of the India U-17 team training for the World Cup in Goa) trained under him.”

He explained how Bisht put in long hours to devise training schedules for the team. “He is responsible for getting the football culture in the school. He has worked a lot to ensure that the boys get the right training. He was the one to convince the school authorities to have a separate sports division for the boys. Today, all that has worked wonders for the Kandivli school,” said the 48-year-old.